London 2012 men’s soccer roundup: Japan edges Spain 1-0

Japan produced a major shock in men’s Olympic soccer on Thursday, beating medal favourites Spain 1-0.

Mexico's Oribe Peralta fights for a header with South Korea's Kim Young-Gwon during the teams' opening match of the Olympics in Newcastle, England. The teams played to a 0-0 draw.

By:The Associated Press Published on Thu Jul 26 2012

GLASGOW, SCOTLAND—Japan produced a major shock in men’s Olympic soccer on Thursday, beating medal favourites Spain 1-0 with pace and guile in a match that could have ended in a rout had the finishing been more accurate.

Japan forward Yuki Otsu broke away from his marker during a corner in the 34th minute and the ball landed right at his feet for a simple tap-in past Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea. Spain, reduced to 10 men a few minutes after the goal, never managed to get back into the game after that.

“It was an important win for us,” captain Maya Yoshida said. “Spain are a very strong team in the group and we played well against them. We worked really hard and we will enjoy our victory. We can get a lot of confidence from this.”

The quick and creative Japanese took full advantage of the extra man, unleashing wave after wave of attack.

“It feels good to have beaten Spain,” Japan forward Kensuke Nagai said. “We have never beaten them before at any level. We look forward to now trying to get to the next stage (of the tournament).”

The loss was a huge blow for Spain’s under-23 team, who wants to win Olympic gold to add to the World Cup and European Championship titles held by the country’s full national team.

But the defeat wasn’t insurmountable.

Spain, touted as one of the favourites to win a gold medal, will now look to the national side’s experience at the 2010 World Cup for inspiration. Spain lost its first group stage match in South Africa to Switzerland, but went on to win the tournament.

The Olympic side has two more matches to turn it around, against Group D opponents Honduras and Morocco.

“Our aim is to win both of them. We have to,” forward Juan Mata said. “We need to improve some things and we have to play better.”

SOUTH KOREA 0, MEXICO 0

South Korea wasted a number of scoring chances against Mexico as the two teams opened Group B at the Olympics with a 0-0 draw in Newcastle, England.

With forward Giovani Dos Santos on the bench from the start, Mexico showed little promise of being a medal contender as its opponent dominated at St. James Park.

Both teams struggled to find their rhythm on the slippery turf, but the tempo picked up in the second half, which saw more scoring occasions.

Koo Jacheol came close to breaking the deadlock in the 53rd minute as the South Korea captain swiveled to send a volley off the crossbar. Koo headed the game’s best chance wide in the 80th after getting free inside the box.

Mexico next plays Gabon on Sunday, when South Korea faces Switzerland.

URUGUAY 2, U.A.E. 1

Substitute Nicolas Lodeiro scored in the second half to give Uruguay a 2-1 victory over the United Arab Emirates Thursday in Manchester.

Playing in front of a near capacity Old Trafford Stadium, the Emirates took the lead on the 23rd minute and looked the better side for much of the first half.

But with four minutes to go before the break, Uruguay’s Gaston Ramirez curled the ball into the top right-hand corner of the net from a free kick after Liverpool striker Luis Suarez was brought down.

Lodeiro came on for the second half and fired in from 55 minutes from close range following a fluid Uruguayan move down the left flank.

Uruguay is seen as possible medal contender in this year’s games. It placed fourth in the 2010 World Cup and won the Copa America title in Argentina in 2011.

MOROCCO 2, HONDURAS 2

Ten-man Morocco held on for a 2-2 draw against Honduras in Glasgow in the men’s football Group D opener at the Olympics.

Morocco opened the scoring in the 39th minute with a superb volley from Abdelaziz Barrada. Honduras equalized in the 56th with a tap-in from Jerry Bengtson, who then converted a penalty in the 65th to give the Central American team a 2-1 lead.

But Honduras’s advantage only lasted two minutes, with Morocco forward Zakaria Labyad chipping the goalkeeper from inside the area. Morocco left back Zakarya Bergdich was then shown a straight red card in the 71st for kicking Mario Martinez in the left knee, but Honduras couldn’t take advantage.

Morocco’s opener came after Bergdich’s pass was headed down by forward Zakaria Labyad near the edge of the area. The ball took a bounce before Barrada blasted it past the Honduras goalkeeper from about 20 yards.

Honduras equalized after Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa made a blazing run down the left and fired a hard shot into the penalty area that Bengtson redirected past the Morocco goalkeeper.

The first half mainly was mainly a midfield battle, with Morocco threatening several times on counter attacks.

Honduras plays Spain next, while Morocco takes on Japan. Both matches are in Newcastle on Sunday.

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